If It’s Not the Project Manager or the Project Team, Then Who?

Most of our clients are surprised when we coach them about communication plans. The most unanticipated part of our conversation about communication plans is centered on revealing best practices pertaining to senders and receivers of communications.

Research about business communication and more specifically, communication about change, shows us that employees have two preferred senders. A sender is the person delivering the message. The preferred sender is determined by the kind of message being communicated. Surprisingly missing on the preferred sender list is the project team. Employees are not fond of, and are less open to hearing information and direction about changes from the project team assigned to the change. One of the most common mistakes we see in communication plans for projects and major changes is that communications are being sent or presented directly by the project manager or the project team.

Here are some research-based tips to help you use the best sender in your communication plans for leading change:

Contact Change Management Communications Center today to co-create a communication plan for your project that ensures your audiences are open to hearing and taking positive action with the messages you need to deliver about the changes you are leading. Effective change communication is our forte.